Storage rack and sprinkler arrangement

ABSTRACT

A storage rack and sprinkler arrangement wherein two rows of storage racks are arranged in spaced relation so that a narrow flue space exists between the rows. Each rack has a plurality of horizontal shelves arranged in a vertical tier and upright support members supporting the shelves and spaced to separate the tier of shelves into bays. At least one sprinkler head with a heat actuated device which initiates the water flow is mounted on the underside of each alternate shelf in each bay. A heat deflecting means, typically a plate of fire resistant material is associated with the shelf immediately above each sprinkling head which closes the flue space. The sprinkler heads are arranged to provide a spray when actuated over the shelf beneath the head, the aisle and the flue space.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,732,930

DAnneo y [4 1 May 15, 1973 [54] STORAGE RACK AND SPRINKLER 3,698,482 101972 Livingston ..169/5 ARRANGEMENT 3,702,159 11 1972 Livingston 169/37[75] Inventor: ilezime Frank DAnneo, Kingston, Primary Examiner kobertaward, JR

Attorney Wo1mar J. Stoffel et al. [73] Assignee: International BusinessMachines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. [57] ABSTRACT [22] F e Ja 1972 Astorage rack and sprinkler arrangement wherein two [21] Appl No 218 321rows of storage racks are arranged in spaced relation so that a narrowflue space exists between the rows. Each rack has a plurality ofhorizontal shelves ar- [52] U.S. Cl. ..l69/2 R, 239/209 ranged i avertical tier and upright support members Int. ..A62c supporting theshelves and spaced to separate the tier of Search ..1 R, l. A, l B, ofhelves into bays At least one sprinkler head a 169/2 R, 5, 37; 239/208,209 heat actuated device which initiates the water flow is mounted onthe underside of each alternate shelf in 1 References Cited each bay. Aheat deflecting means, typically a plate of fire resistant material isassociated with the shelf im- UNITED STATES PATENTS mediately above eachsprinkling head which closes the 3,193,017 7/1965 Walker -169/1R fluespace. The sprinkler heads are arranged to pro- 3,520,345 7/1970Lillibridge et a1 3,539,108 11/1970 Lillibridge et a1. 3,626,487 12/1971Seiz ..169/2 R R vide a spray when actuated over the shelf beneath thehead, the aisle and the flue space.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures STORAGE RACK AND SPRINKLER A ARRANGEMENTFIELD OF THE INVENTION BACKGROUNP OF INV N O Material handlingequipment, principally forklift trucks, have been developed which willstack or store materials at very high levels. By utilizing suchequipment storage facilities can be used with increasingly highceilings, which permit material to be stored at increasingly higherelevations in storage racks. The cost of warehousing can besignificantly reduced since the cost of a building is greatly redueedwhen only a single floor is provided. This type facility replaceswarehouses having two or three floors. i

It is felt by most in the fire protection field that very seriousproblems exist in providing fire protection in shelves extendingtohigher levels. One indication of this is born out in reports thatseveral firms have been forced to scrap plans for high-rise warehousingbecause of demands of insurance carriers toinstall fire protectionsystems that carry prohibitively high price tags. Thus, in the presentsituation the savings that are potentially possible using high storageracks are more than off-set by the lack of effective fire prevention andcontrol and also increased insurance rates.

Fire sprinkler systems are usually required by law to be installed inwarehouses and other similar article storage areas. Conventionalsprinkling systems are generally installed in the ceiling of thebuilding and consist of separate sprinkling elements with heatactuatedclosures which open only at temperatures well above the normal,which normally would be caused only by a fire. The sprinklers spraywater in the area of the fire to either control and/or extinguish thefire. However, in storage areas utilizing racks a fire which breaks outon a lower rack is protected from the spray eminating from the ceilingsprinkler. The situation is significantly aggravated as the number ofshelves is increased. In situations where the ceiling of the warehouseis very high and many shelves in tiers are provided to store material,conventional sprinkling systems fail to fulfill their originallyintended protective function. Since the sprinkling elements are locatedhigh in the ceiling a fire in the lower shelves may not actuate theheating actuated sensing element in sufficient time to provide aneffective control of the flame. Further even when the sprinkling systemis actuated the fire on the lower shelves is protected from the spray bythe upper shelves and the fire can spread upwardly until it is out ofcontrol.

It has been suggested that overhead or roof sprinkler systems besupplemented by intermediate levels of sprinklers, as for example,sprinklers mounted within the storage racks, and also within the aisle.This arrangement was not generally satisfactory because consistent,timely, and dependable detection and sprinkler actuation was notachievable. Consequently, greater damage to stored material, and greaterrisk to material being stored and the building structure preventedwidespread use of high storage facilities.

invention relates to fire prevention in warehouse,

Fireprotection using foam systems have been suggested for use inhigh-rise storage facilities. This system in general has a foamgenerator coupled with a suitable sensing system which is capable offilling the entire building volume with a light foam. Single generatorscapab le of producing as much as 2,000 cubic foot per minute of foam areavailable. The time required for filling the building varies but ingeneral ranges from 2 to 8 minutes. Such systems are not completelysatisfactory since the foam may damage goods within the warehouse. Alsowhen the fire occurs at a high elevation the foam may not reach thelevel for some time permitting the fire to spread to the roof or ceilingand become outof-control. Further the system relatively expensiverequires large quantities of water, requires a great deal ofmaintenance, and the generators which are heavy and normally mounted onthe roof may result in structural damage if sufficient reinforcement isnot provided. Removal of the foam from the warehouse after the fire isout is a major problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to provide a newand improved storage rack and sprinkler arrangement for improved fireprotection.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new storage rack andsprinkler arrangement adapted for more effective fire protection in highrise storage racks.

The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement consists of a pair ofadjacent storage racks arranged in back-toback relation with a spacebetween constituting a flue space. Sprinkler heads are mounted on theunderside of alternateshelves and positioned to provide a spray whenactuated which is directed over the shelf beneath the sprinkler and theaisle. The heating deflecting means is provided to block the flue spaceat an elevation approximate to the sprinkler head. The deflecting meansholds and directs the heat from a fire from one of the underlyingshelves to the sprinkler head to cause its actuation. Actuation of thesprinkler head, in this arrangement, brings the materials under the headlevel into direct exposure to the discharge water. The materials belowthe shelf are under effective indirect control by the discharge water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects, features andadvantages of the invention will become more apparent from the moreparticular description of the preferred embodiments as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings.

IN THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring nowto FIG. 1 of the drawings there is depicted schematically an arrangementof storage racks for carrying out the purpose and objectives of theinvention. Each storage rack 10 has a plurality of shelves 12 arrangedin a vertical tier. Upright supports elements 14 support shelves 12 anddivide the rack up into bays 16. For purposes of explanation a bay isconsid ered to be the space between two upright supports 14 and extendsfrom the floor to the uppermost shelf.

' Racks 10 can consist of any suitable number of shelves arrangedvertically in tiers to meet the requirements of any particularapplication. In warehouses having relatively high ceilings the height ofthe racks can extend from the floor to nearly the ceiling and range innumber from 2 to 20. Racks 10 are arranged in back-to-back relation andspaced from each other. Access to the shelves is normally made fromaisle 18 illustrated in FIG. 1. Suitable material handling apparatus,typically forklift trucks and/or travel cranes convey the material tothe desired racks and elevate it to the suitable shelf. The material isnormally maintained for ease of handling on pallets 20 shown in FIG. 2.As illustrated in FIG. 1 two rows of racks are positioned with thebacksides spaced to form a flue space 24. The reason and nature of fluespace will be explained in more detail in the descriptions that follows.

Referring now to FIG. 2 and 3 there is illustrated a more specific rackstructure and the relationship of the sprinkling system. The uprightmembers normally consist of upright comers members 26 and 28 located atthe rear and the front of the racks. Members 26 and 28 can be angleiron, channel iron, or other types of structural elements that providesufficient strength to support the structure. Diagonal members 30 may beprovided for stability. The shelves consists of longitudinally extendingmembers 32 and 34 which span each bay and provide support for thehorizontal shelf member 36. The shelves can be any suitable distanceapart. In general the shelf spacing in a typical warehouse is on theorder of five feet. As most clearly illustrated in FIG. 2 sprinklers areprovided on the underside of every other shelf in each bay. The shelvesbelow sprinkler heads can be solid or open type, consisting of crossmembers joined to the horizontal members 32 and 34. The sprinkler head38 is preferably located behind hor izontal member 34 in order toprotect it during loading and unloading of the shelves. Sprinkler 38 ismounted on the end of a supply conduit 40 connected to a suitable sourceof water. Preferably the supply conduit is attached to the underside ofshelf 36 as for example, by a bracket 42. The supply conduits areconveniently located in the flue space and serve the sprinklers in bothrows of adjacent racks. However, other arrangements can be provided, asfor example, locating the vertical conduits within the upright members26 and 28. Sprinkler 38 is preferably of the type having a heat actuateddevice covering an orifice. A preferred type of sprinkler employs aquartz cylinder filled with a liquid which is held in place over anorifice. When a predetermined rise in temperature occurs which wouldhappen normally only in the event of a fire the liquid within thecylinder expands breaking the cylinder and opening the orifice. Thisallows water to flow outwardly which is broken up into a spray by asuitable type bafile element 43 illustrated in FIG. 3. As most clearlyillustrated in FIG. 2 the pattern of the spray is such thatapproximately one-third falls on the shelf and into the flue space 24while approximately two-thirds is directed into the aisle and across thebay length. The placement and nature of the sprinkling system isselected so that the combined action of the baffle 43 and spray directedfrom member 34 directs the spray in the aforementioned manner. The spraydirected toward the aisle forms a curtain of water which prevents theflame from spreading and controls the heat release of the fire. Normallya suitable alarm is associated with the conduit system supplying waterto the sprinklers which provides an indication of their actuation. Thespray pattern must be sufficiently large to cover the entirelongitudinal length of bay, i.e., between the upright members. Anysuitable type of heat actuated sprinkler head can be used in thepractice of this invention. A type of sprinkler head found to beeffective and one which is preferred for practice of this invention isthe Grinnel sidewall quartzoid sprinkler mounted horizontally.Preferably the reflectors of the Grinnel sprinkler is positionedapproximately 4 inches back of rack support member 34. With this type ofsprinkler head a nozzle pressure of 40 pounds per square inch willproduce a flow of approximately 35 gallons per minute. In general theflow of water from the sprinkler per cubic foot of protected shelfvolume is in the range of 0.06 to 0.2 gal/min/ft. The protected shelfvolume is considered the volume between the sprinkler heads, or betweenthe lower sprinkler head and floor in a single bay. The preferred rateis 0.12 gal/min/ft".

In operation, a fire, as for example on the lower shelf in FIG. 2 wouldproduce heat which would travel upwardly through flue 24 until blockedby the closure 44. When a sufiicient amount of heat builds up thesprinkler 38 would be actuated producing a spray. This spray willconfine the fire to the specific area and at the same time prevent thestructural members of the rack from heat which might otherwise result intheir collapse. As can be readily appreciated the stability of the rackscan be affected by a fire which would seriously jeopardize the lives andsafety of persons investigating and fighting the fire. The hazards oftopling racks and their heavy loads on personnel is believed obvious. Insome instances it may be desirable to provide additional paneling orsheets on the upright members of each rack that separate the bays whichfurther confine the heat produced by a fire in a specific area to insurethe actuation of the particular sprinkler involved, and limit horizontalfire spread. This sheet or paneling can be of any suitable type ofnon-combustible material as for example steel sheets. If desired thesheet can extend only to cover the space between the uprights on theupper shelf enclosing the sprinkler or alternately can extend the entirelength.

Preferably the panels cover the entire area between uprights 32 and 34.However, as an alternate arrangement, a panel 48 can be provided whichextends downwardly from the shelf over the sprinkler to a pointapproximately even with span members 34 as shown in FIG. 3. The panel 48aids in retaining heat in the loca tion of the sprinkler in the event ofa fire which results in an earlier actuation. A second panel 49 whichextends above and below the shelf under the sprinkler by about one footaids in directing heat from the lower shelf to the sprinkler. Ordinarilythere is a space provided between the end of the shelf and panel 49.

Another embodiment of the storage rack and sprinkler arrangement alsohas a tier of shelves separated into bays with a sprinkler beneath asolid shelf spaced from the floor or another solid shelf and sprinkler.This embodiment differs from the previously described embodiment in thatmore than a single shelf can be provided beneath a sprinkler providedthat the shelves are open shelves. Such shelves permit heat to rise andactuate the sprinkler in the event of a fire. The same flue arrangement,heat deflecting plate 44, water spray pattern, and bafile 48 areprovided for the reasons discussed previously. The solid shelf andunderlying sprinkler are spaced to suit the particular conditions. Ifthe fire loading is great, and/or there is a large number of openshelves, the distance between is less. In general, the sprinkler shelvesare vertically spaced in the range of 7 to 12 feet. The primaryconsiderations in designing the rack and sprinkler arrangement isassuring of early fire detection by providing as clear path for heat totravel to the sprinkler head, and subsequently producing a spray patternthat is localized but is effective in confining and controlling any firein the zone protected by the individual sprinkler.

With the rack and sprinkler arrangement of this invention earlydetection of a fire in a storage rack is possible since the sprinklerwill be actuated much sooner than a sprinkler on the ceiling wouldnormally be actuated. Since the sprinkling actuations takes place at anearlier time control and isolation of the fire is assured. With thesprinklers in the racks, sprinkler heads with a lower actuationtemperature can be used. This would also provide earlier actionnecessary for effective fire control. Still further, since thesprinkling action is calized to only the fire location, water damage tomerchandise outside the area is minimized. The use of this systemeliminates the alternate forms of deluge protection namely use of foamwhich necessitates a difficult and tedious clean up operation.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in formand details may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a storage rack and sprinkler arrangement having at least one pairof adjacent storage racks, each rack having a plurality of horizontalshelves arranged in a vertical tier, and upright support memberssupporting the shelves and spaced to form the tiers of shelves intobays, the improvement comprising,

said adjacent rows of storage racks spaced to provide a vertical fluespace,

a sprinkler head provided with a heat actuatable clo sure mounted on theunderside of each alternate shelf in each bay, at least said shelf abovesaid sprinkler head being solid,

a heat deflecting means associated with the shelf immediately above saidsprinkler head which closes said flue space,

said sprinkler head arranged to provide a spray of water when actuatedover the shelf beneath the head, the aisle, and the flue space,

said heat deflecting means adapted to hold and to direct heat to saidheat actuatable closure of said sprinkler head from a fire on either ofthe shelves beneath the sprinkler head to cause actuation and subsequentwater spray to control the fire.

2. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1 wherein saidsprinkler head is arranged to distribute approximately one-third of thespray to the shelf and flue and two-thirds to the aisle.

3. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1 wherein saidhead deflecting means is an impervious plate of non-combustible materialspanning the adjacent shelves across the flue space.

4. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 3 wherein saidheat deflecting means is a metal plate.

5. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1 wherein heatbaffle means is provided on said upright supports for enclosing at leastpartially the ends of said bays.

6. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 5 wherein saidheat baffle means is a vertical metal sheet on said supports transverseto the shelves.

7. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1 wherein thewidth of said flue space is in the range of 4 to 12 inches.

8. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1 wherein theflow of the spray per sprinkler is in the range of 0.06 to 0.2 gallonsper minute/cubic foot of protected shelf space.

9. In a storage rack and sprinkler arrangement having at least one pairof adjacent storage racks, each rack having a plurality of horizontalshelves arranged in a vertical tier, and upright support memberssupporting the shelves and spaced to from the tiers of shelves intobays, the improvement comprising,

said adjacent rows of storage racks spaced to provide a vertical fluespace,

at least one of said shelves impervious,

a sprinkler head provided with a. heat actuatable closure mounted on theunderside of said impervious shelf,

a heat deflecting means associated with the shelf associated with thesaid shelf immediately above said sprinkler head which closes said fluespace,

at least one pervious shelf beneath said sprinkler head,

said sprinkler head arranged to provide a spray of water when actuatedover the shelf beneath the head, the aisle, and the flue space,

said heat deflecting means adapted to hold and to direct heat to saidheat actuatable closure of said sprinkler head from a fire on either ofthe shelves beneath the sprinkler head to cause actuation and subsequentwater spray to control the fire.

1. In a storage rack and sprinkler arrangement having at least one pairof adjacent storage racks, each rack having a plurality of horizontalshelves arranged in a vertical tier, and upright support memberssupporting the shelves and spaced to form the tiers of shelves intobays, the improvement comprising, said adjacent rows of storage racksspaced to provide a vertical flue space, a sprinkler head provided witha heat actuatable closure mounted on the underside of each alternateshelf in each bay, at least said shelf above said sprinkler head beingsolid, a heat deflecting means associated with the shelf immediatelyabove said sprinkler head which closes said flue space, said sprinklerhead arranged to provide a spray of water when actuated over the shelfbeneath the head, the aisle, and the flue space, said heat deflectingmeans adapted to hold and to direct heat to said heat actuatable closureof said sprinkler head from a fire on either of the shelves beneath thesprinkler head to cause actuation and subsequent water spray to controlthe fire.
 2. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1wherein said sprinkler head is arranged to distribute approximatelyone-third of the spray to the shelf and flue and two-thirds to theaisle.
 3. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1 whereinsaid head deflecting means is an impervious plate of non-combustiblematerial spanning the adjacent shelves across the flue space.
 4. Thestorage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 3 wherein said heatdeflecting means is a metal plate.
 5. The storage rack and sprinklerarrangement of claim 1 wherein heat baffle means is provided on saidupright supports for enclosing at least partially the ends of said bays.6. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 5 wherein saidheat baffle means is a vertical metal sheet on said supports transverseto the shelves.
 7. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1wherein the width of said flue space is in the range of 4 to 12 inches.8. The storage rack and sprinkler arrangement of claim 1 wherein theflow of the spray per sprinkler is in the range of 0.06 to 0.2 gallonsper minute/cubic foot of protected shelf space.
 9. In a storage rack andsprinkler arrangement having at least one pair of adjacent storageracks, each rack having a plurality of horizontal shelves arranged in avertical tier, and upright support members supporting the shelves andspaced to from the tiers of shelves into bays, the improvementcomprising, said adjacent rows of storage racks spaced to provide avertical flue space, at least one of saiD shelves impervious, asprinkler head provided with a heat actuatable closure mounted on theunderside of said impervious shelf, a heat deflecting means associatedwith the shelf associated with the said shelf immediately above saidsprinkler head which closes said flue space, at least one pervious shelfbeneath said sprinkler head, said sprinkler head arranged to provide aspray of water when actuated over the shelf beneath the head, the aisle,and the flue space, said heat deflecting means adapted to hold and todirect heat to said heat actuatable closure of said sprinkler head froma fire on either of the shelves beneath the sprinkler head to causeactuation and subsequent water spray to control the fire.